Bob Cooney

The 76ers have reportedly signed shooting guard Nick Young to a one-year contract for close to $6 million and are ready to use their amnesty clause on Elton Brand, reports say.

The signing of Young, a 6-6 shooting guard, certainly seems to indicate that Lou Williams will not be back with the team. Williams opted out of the last year of his contract with the team, worth about the same amount of Young's reported contract.

Williams seems to have confirmed that idea today when he tweeted the following:

Philly, I appreciate you all. Unfortunately I will not be coming back, as an organization they decided to move in a different direction.

The 27 year-old young was a first round draft pick (16th overall) of the Washington Wizards in 2007. In 62 games last season, 40 with the Wizards and 22 with the Clippers, Young shot 40.3 percent from the floor, including 103-for-282 (36.5 percent) from three-point range. He averaged 14.2 points, slightly over his career average of 11.4 points. He is a very good free throw shooter at 83 percent for his career, but his main attribute is his outside shooting.

By using the amnesty clause on Brand, the Sixers will probably use that money ($18.2 million) on finding a veteran big man who may be able to start at the power forward position and a backup point guard. Right now Jrue Holiday is the only real point guard on the roster, though Evan Turner and Andre Iguodala could handle the ball when necessary. A true backup point guard would allow the team to not only use him when Holiday is out of the game, but move Holiday off the ball at times also.

Williams, 25, spent all of his 7 NBA seasons with the Sixers after being taken with the 45th overall pick in 2005 out of South Gwinnett High School. He led the team in scoring this past season with 14.9 points a game despite not starting a single game. For his career he has averaged 11.3 points and 3 assists.

Brand, the top overall pick by the Chicago Bulls in 1999, will turn 34 this upcoming season. He averaged a career-low 11 points this past season but was able to grab 7.2 rebounds and block 1.6 shots in 29 minutes of play.

Today's reported moves appear to be the beginning of more. Coach Doug Collins and his assistants are down in Orlando preparing for next week's summer league. President Rod Thorn is still in Philadelphia, though he will join Collins and company in Orlando on Monday.